8 Horror Movies You Won’t Watch Once You Know The Truth

The sad reality is that some of your favourite horror films may well have a murky backstory.

hostel death scene
Screen Gems

For so many, the horror genre is something that's always there for them. Whether it's a poignant, thoughtful horror offering, a mindless, cathartic slasher consisting of a ludicrous body count, an elaborate creature feature, a reinvention of an old favourite, or whatever.

The point is, people forever gravitate towards horror and its many wonderful subgenres.

What horror hounds or more casual moviegoers are maybe not so familiar with, though, are some of the real life issues behind the films that are viewed on the cinema screen and in the comfort of your own home.

Some of the greatest horror pictures in history have a rather murky reality behind them, and some of those realities are absolutely heartbreaking. From countless tales of vile abuse, to traumatic exhaustion, to classless moves, to subjects so grim that they're truly hard to type, the sad reality is that many of your favourite horror films may well have a horrible truth or two behind them.

Here, then, we're looking at the absolutely shocking truths that will mean you'll genuinely struggle to be able to watch certain horror films ever again.

8. The Birds

hostel death scene
Universal Pictures

Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, period. But for all of the masterpieces he brought to the table across his legendary career, that doesn't mean that Hitchcock was always the nicest of people.

On The Birds, Hitchcock made the film a living hell for lead actress Tippi Hedren.

As Hedren has revealed in the years since Hitchcock's death in 1980, the filmmaker made persistent, unwanted sexual advances on the actress throughout production of The Birds. When Hedren rejected these advances, Hitchcock threatened to ruin her career.

Showcasing even more of a vindictive streak, Hitchcock made the rest of the shoot a misery for Tippi. According to the actress, one such act of spite saw Hitchcock change The Birds' final act without informing Hedren. Under the impression that said finale would feature a slew of mechanical birds on a rampage, the last-minute call was made to replace the faux birds with real ones - much to Hedren's shock and terror.

Tippi Hedren's The Birds co-star Rod Taylor is just one of several people to back up Hedren's claims, and the relationship between Hitchcock and Hedren was even spotlighted in HBO's The Girl.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.